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Shadowing practice: The Little Red Hen (US English accent) - TheFableCottage.com

Listen to the line, then say it out loud
Line 1

Full transcript

  1. The Little Red Hen.0:00
  2. A version of the tale by thefablecottage .com.0:06
  3. This is a story about a little red hen.0:14
  4. The little red hen lives on a farm.0:19
  5. She works hard all day long.0:23
  6. She pecks the ground.0:27
  7. She looks for worms.0:30
  8. She sits in a bush.0:32
  9. And sometimes she lays an egg.0:35
  10. The little red hen has three friends.0:40
  11. A cat, a dog and a horse.0:44
  12. These animals don't work hard at all.0:48
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  1. The cat likes to sleep in the sun.0:52
  2. The dog likes to sleep in the shade.0:55
  3. The horse likes to watch TV all day long.1:00
  4. One day the little red hen sees a raspberry bush.1:05
  5. Raspberries!1:12
  6. She squeals.1:13
  7. Yum, yum, yum!1:15
  8. We can make a raspberry cake.1:17
  9. The little red hen runs to tell her friends.1:21
  10. Guys, there are raspberries over there.1:25
  11. We can make a raspberry cake.1:30
  12. The dog drools.1:33
  13. Yes!1:36
  14. The cat licks her lips.1:37
  15. Absolutely!1:42
  16. The horse flicks his tail.1:44
  17. What a great idea!1:47
  18. So, who wants to help me pick the raspberries?1:51
  19. Asks the little red hen.1:57
  20. Not me, says the dog.2:00
  21. I'm too busy.2:02
  22. Not me, says the cat.2:05
  23. I'm too tired.2:08
  24. Not me, says the horse.2:11
  25. I'm watching TV.2:14
  26. Buck, buck.2:17
  27. Then I will do it myself, says the little red hen.2:18
  28. So she picks the berries one by one.2:23
  29. All by herself.2:27
  30. Buck, buck.2:34
  31. Okay, now we need flour and sugar and milk and butter, says the little red hen.2:36
  32. Who wants to help me get them?2:45
  33. Not me, says the dog.2:48
  34. I'm too busy.2:52
  35. Not me, says the cat.2:55
  36. I'm too tired.2:58
  37. Not me, says the horse.3:01
  38. I'm watching TV.3:05
  39. Buck, buck, buck.3:08
  40. Then I will do it myself, says the little red hen.3:10
  41. She goes all the way to the pantry and gets the flour and the sugar.3:16
  42. She goes all the way to the fridge and gets the butter and the milk.3:23
  43. Then she puts everything together into a big bowl, all by herself.3:30
  44. Buck, buck.3:39
  45. Who wants to help me mix the cake batter, asks the little red hen.3:41
  46. Not me, says the dog.3:46
  47. I'm too busy.3:49
  48. Not me, says the cat.3:54
  49. I'm too tired.3:57
  50. Not me, says the horse.4:01
  51. I'm watching TV.4:04
  52. Buck, then I will do it myself, says the little red hen.4:08
  53. She mixes the batter until it is smooth and creamy.4:14
  54. Then she gently stirs through the raspberries.4:19
  55. She pours the batter into a cake tin.4:24
  56. Then she puts it in the oven, all by herself.4:28
  57. Tick, tock, tick, tock.4:33
  58. Soon there is a delicious smell coming from the kitchen.4:36
  59. The dog can smell it.4:42
  60. The cat can smell it.4:45
  61. The horse can smell it too.4:47
  62. They all rush to the kitchen.4:50
  63. The little red hen takes the cake from the oven.4:54
  64. She puts it on a plate and sprinkles it with sugar.4:58
  65. So, who wants to help me eat this cake, asks the little red hen.5:04
  66. Me, says the dog.5:11
  67. Me, says the cat.5:15
  68. Me, says the horse.5:18
  69. I don't think so.5:22
  70. Says the little red hen.5:25
  71. You would not help me make this cake, so you will not help me eat it.5:28
  72. She runs away with the cake and eats every last crumb, all by herself.5:35

American accent narration practice for A1 english learners

The Little Red Hen gives you english shadowing for beginners in a clean, single voice: an A1 narration in an american accent moving at 130 words per minute, brisk for the level yet evenly paced, since the recording is built for children first. One narrator carries the whole scene, so there is no dialogue to switch between speakers, only short lines spoken one after another that you can repeat without losing the thread. The plot stays concrete and easy to follow: a hen wants to bake a raspberry cake and asks a cat, a dog and a horse for help, and each one turns her down.

The refusal repeats with nearly the same words each time, which makes this useful english speaking practice: you say the same short sentence three times in one recording instead of meeting it once and losing it. For someone starting out, a slow narrator with short repeated lines is an easier place to begin than two people talking over each other, and a steady way to improve your english accent early on.

The refrain that carries this A1 story

Three lines return again and again as each animal turns the hen down, and one line answers them each time. Read them together before you shadow this line by line.

  • "Not me, says the dog." then "I'm too busy." Each animal gives the same two line excuse, so once you can say it for the dog you already have it for the cat and the horse.
  • "Then I will do it myself, says the little red hen." The weight falls on "I", the word that turns the story: let it land slightly louder than the rest of the line.
  • "So, who wants to help me pick the raspberries?" A full question said in one breath, rising at the end. Practise it as one unit, not word by word.
  • "Buck, buck." The hen's own sound, dropped in between her actions. It is short and plain, a safe place to check your rhythm against the narrator's before the next full sentence starts.

How to work through the raspberry cake scene line by line

Work the scene in the order it plays, not at random. Short units said correctly first, then chained into the whole scene, is how repeating this A1 narration turns into real speaking practice.

  • Start at line 16, "One day the little red hen sees a raspberry bush.", and shadow it on its own until the stress in "raspberry" lands where the narrator puts it.
  • Move into the refusal block: say "Not me, says the dog." then "I'm too busy.", and repeat the same two lines for the cat and the horse before moving on.
  • Shadow "Then I will do it myself, says the little red hen." by itself several times, since it returns three times in this scene and you want it automatic.
  • Finish on "Okay, now we need flour and sugar and milk and butter, says the little red hen.", the longest line so far, and split it at the commas the first few times through.
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